Netflix’s latest Monsters true crime offering has sparked controversy amid claims it’s a “dishonest portrayal” of two brothers who killed their parents in Beverly Hills in the late 1980s.

Across nine episodes, with an R-18 rating, The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story follows the controversial first Monsters series about US serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, which was criticised in some quarters for being insensitive.

When Lyle, 21, and Erik, 18, shot their parents at close range in a brutal attack in their mansion on August 20, 1989, it was a crime that shook America.

They faced two trials and were eventually convicted in 1996 for the murders of José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez.

The prosecution argued they were seeking to inherit their family fortune, but the brothers claimed their actions stemmed out of fear from a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of their parents.

The brothers are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole in San Diego, California.

Critics and experts, including Erik Menendez, have weighed in on the show, which attracted 12.8 million views on opening weekend.

University of Newcastle forensic criminologist, and regular media contributor, Xanthe Mallett, says ethical true crime depiction “should be victim focused and should achieve a purpose beyond entertainment”.

She says Monsters isn’t the first example of co-creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan “cheapening real tragedies by turning them into voyeuristic and fictionalised television”, referring to the Dahmer series, which received 13 Emmy nominations in January.

“It documents a version of events leading up to the murders, including detailed histories of both Lyle’s and Erik’s sexual abuse, as well as the crimes themselves and subsequent trials.

“In the series, the brothers are portrayed in a homoerotic and incestuous way. For context, back in 1995 Lyle testified that he sexually offended against Erik, but this was against the background of the alleged sexual abuse from their father.

“Monsters, on the other hand, shows the brothers having an incestuous relationship as adults. The brothers deny this and there’s little evidence to support it,” she writes on The Conversation this week.

Monsters director and writer Murphy hit back, saying the show “is presenting the points of view and theories from so many people who were involved in the case”.

Cooper Koch as Erik, Nicholas Chavez as Lyle. Their parents are played by Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny. Photo: Netflix

‘Disheartening slander’

In a statement released on X by his wife, Tammi, Erik Menendez, now 53,  criticised the production the day after it was released, labelling the show “disheartening slander”.

“I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show,” he said.

“I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.

“It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward – back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women.

“Those awful lies have been disrupted and exposed by countless brave victims over the last two decades who have broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out.”

Many viewers agreed, saying it didn’t accurately portray the trauma associated with sexual abuse and insinuated details that may be untrue, People wrote.

Author of The Menendez Murders, Robert Rand, also said he didn’t believe that Erik and Lyle Menendez “were ever lovers”.

“Rumours were going around the trial that maybe there was some sort of weird relationship between Erik and Lyle themselves,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

“I certainly wouldn’t call that a sexual relationship of any sort. It’s a response to trauma.”

Mallett says whether you believe the brothers are cold-blooded and opportunistic killers, or victims of serious child abuse, will influence your take on the case. Photo: Netflix

‘We do it very carefully’

Murphy responded to the criticisms, telling Entertainment Tonight “it’s really hard, if it’s your life, to see your life up on screen”.

“The thing I find interesting, that he doesn’t mention in his quote, is that if you watch the show, I would say 60 to 65 per cent of our show centres around the abuse, and what they claim happened to them.

“We do it very carefully and we give them their day in court, and they talk openly about it.

“In this age where people can talk about sexual abuse, talking and writing about all points of view can be controversial.

“There were four people involved, two people are dead, what about the parents? We had an obligation as storytellers to also try and put in their perspective based on our research, which we did.”